So I was sitting around this weekend using Gmail, Google+, and Google Drive thinking, "Gee, I wish there was a way I could give Google even more information about me." It turns out, there soon will be. The mad scientists at Mountain View are currently preparing a new service entitled Google Mine that is totally not a private sector arm of PRISM. It allows users to share their belongings with friends in their Google+ circles, letting people see both what others own and what they want. Sounds innocent enough, right?

Key Google Mine Google+ interactions :

Catalog your belongings, track what you have

Review your belongings for your friends to see

Control who sees what, track conversations

Send requests to borrow or try out friends' stuff

Share stuff you wish for, get recommendations

Share stuff you are giving away, find takers

Follow, browse, search stuff that friends share﻿

Search for stuff people have shared on Mine.

See instant matches for your stuff, and the people in your circles.

Use What's Hot to follow what others are sharing.

Organize and share your stuff as lists.

Similar functionality can already be found in services such as Springpad and Evernote, but they lack the degree of integration with a social network that Google Mine intends to offer. Friends won't have to sign up for a new service to see each other's items, they can just use the Google accounts that they already have.

There's also an Android app in the works. It's currently only available on Bazaar, Google's internal Play Store, but that is expected to change eventually. It will then immediately get 10,000,000+ downloads, because while Android fans can't agree over whether phones should be made of plastic or if TouchWiz truly is awful, we all collectively love giving Google more information than one company should ever have. I mean, who doesn't appreciate a company transparent enough to put their secret intentions directly in the name of a product?

Oh, they meant "mine" as a pronoun, not a verb. Oops.

Edit: It should be noted that this is still an internal project, and these things don't always see the light of day. If Google Mine never comes to fruition, don't be too disappointed.

Comments

I *think* he means that people will use this to brag about all the shit they have, in an attempt to make their friends or other users jealous. Basically, you'll have people with all the greatest toys and technology and cars just listing out the thousands of items that have cost them thousands of dollars, and then not share any of it -- they'll just want to show people they have it to be passive aggressive.

Colin Kealty

Ah thanks, I thought he meant google was being passive aggressive or the article was written passive aggressively :P

Greyhame

The article IS written in a passively aggressive manner. That's what the OP was referring to.

RitishOemraw

I'll most likely use it to tell the world what Nexus device I have (meaning: they will be able to see that by googling me or just looking at what device I have in the dozens of feedback reports I send them)
Besides that....yeh don't really own cool stuff worth sharing :P

I wonder how long it will take before people will post pictures of their food stating that it is theirs while applying retro filters.

RitishOemraw

That comment was mine...not sure why it shows it as a guest after I tried deleting it (seeing as it should be a separate comment and not a reply)
but it happened, deal with it!

Facebook already does this with Sections. Though there are specific sections dedicated to movies, books, music and TV series. Google's implementation is wide and could include anything I imagine. I think this would work very well with Knowledge Graph. And Google would do well by showing your contacts who owns a product (or a thing) that you are searching for.

Vibrunazo

I don't remember the name, but I've seen a startup do exactly this (share things you own) on a Startup Weekend (it's a startup competition) about 2 years ago. Everyone lauded the idea, but the judges, who were investors in the area, said they already knew other startups doing the same thing. That this was too common and they had nothing unique to stand out.

So 1: This is definitely not new in any way. And 2: when a small startup with no experience does it, it's brilliant. But when a established company does it, it's OMG PRIVACY!

PhaseBurn

I see this being great for organizing a DVD collection, or a bookshelf library, which both get raided by my friends regularly. I'm honestly OK with Google having access to that information - it's no different than my public profile on GoodReads that catalogs what I've read, reviewed, and indexed there. And if the Feds want to poke their nose into the types of movies I watch some day, they need to be replaced, it's as simple as that. Has nothing to do with Google.

They should integrate some NFC support into the app so that when your friends borrow your movies, you can make them "check out" using NFC. Then if you forget who has it, you can just log into Mine and look it up.

ssj4Gogeta

You'd still have to manually enter the details of the item borrowed, unless you're planning to tag them all with NFC tags as well.

wheineman

The idea is a good one, and I can see a great use for it. And if any company is going to attempt to know everything I own I think I would trust Google the most! Would I give this to Facebook, Twitter, Microsoft, or a small startup? HELL NO!

But I would probably use this for things like video games, tools, and cookware. All things that I would gladly lend out to close friends!

In addition, a lot of this already happens on Craigslist, and that site straight up blows. I would love for Google to run Craigslist over with beautiful UI and integration with G+.

Google already knows more about me than I even know about myself...so what's the harm in letting them know a little bit more? Right??

Sarcasm aside, it may not be a bad idea to inventory some of my stuff, but I may not use this app to do so.

RitishOemraw

they already know you don;t care what they know.
They also know how to exploit your characteristics into sharing knowledge with them that you didn't even know you had nor wanted to share with them if you knew about that knowledge.

This of it as a personal database of things you create. You are able to add images to it. You can post your reviews and opinions. People in your circles would be able to see your reviews and photos if they search for it in Google (Plus Your World). It's like Google+ Local but for things instead of places.

jammer

I wonder if insurance companies will accept this list in the event of a loss.

Matthew Fry

That was my thought! Cloud storage of my house contents might be really handy!

Paul Faraday

Cool. So I'll be able to look at the Near By stream, see where people live and when they're out and see if they have anything worth stealing.

wheineman

And if you were that type of person, nobody would allow you permission to view their "Mine". They clearly thought of this scenario.

Paul Faraday

Unfortunately some people are like that. There's been stories in the past involving people using Twitter and Facebook to check when others are out and breaking in. Too many people post all of their information publicly.

I love how people think Google has any power. Just as noted here; don't like, don't use.

I'm going to use it for boardgames, tools probably and everything in my cellar.

I would give an arm and leg if I could, digitally as well, pack items in boxes so I'd know where something is.
This automatic with glass and my life quality would increase... Since I could find stuff without asking my wife.

I think personalized search for products will benefit from this. Might also be a start for something like eBay or amazon.

Christopher Robert

No offense but i could care less what everyone else owns. This seems like a Bragbook feature not a Google+ feature.

Matthew Fry

This will be the most technologically advanced list of things evar!

Freak4Dell

If this takes off, it could replace Amazon as the first place you go when you're looking for reviews of something.

ChristianAhlin

I wish I could unread this article and get this author to quit AP. Google's aim is to make the world's information accessible, users choose themselves.

If I want this kind of text trolling and insults I read an aggressive Apple blog... Artem, don't let a sour apple into your delicious pie...

Aniket Patni

There are two ways to look at this. Either as it being a upcoming novel service by Google, or another way to 'mine' your data.

I prefer the first. Google is integrated into our lives by choice, not by force. We don't live in a closed ecosystem, where we're not allowed to choose a service, or hell, even shift from Goog to another one. We use it because it's that damn good.

Google is a company that essentially thrives on user information and using it. Google Search is so powerful because of zillions of bytes of data, tracking users and what they do, etc. Oh yeah, privacy concerns. But look at the flip, you have the most undeniably powerful and indispensable everyday use product. I think that's how most of Google's products have worked: done far far more good than harm.

If another company did this, it would have been a smart idea. But a giant doing this points to darker propoganda. I don't see why. Can't Google just make the same user-hived products it pretty much always did? I get there is no straight up hate here, but the entire tone of this article sarcastically points to how google owns you life. Well, in this day and age it was obvious some digital space would contain your life in data, and for me, I'm glad it's Google.

louched1

This project seems like a burglars wet dream come true.

Brie

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! Its not steeling if your using an app for it. Silly.

Sean Thomas

sounds like a cool concept for an online marketplace with Google Wallet with some free sharing features bullt in. You could tie in digital goods too and share/sell those.

rap

I think not (although I can see how some people would do it for books or videos.)